1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to inverse multiplexing and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing transparent circuit connection between time division multiplexed circuit lines connected by a packet switching network.
2. Background Information
Modern telecommunication networks utilize packet switching techniques to route data between switches or nodes of the network in a connection oriented manner. Often, these packet switching networks provide multiple communication paths between nodes. Users having various voice, data and video communication equipment attached to end nodes of such a network often have no control over which communication path will be used between nodes. Nevertheless, users do require assurance that the communication network will route data through the network in a fashion which guarantees that the data will be played out of an end node in the same sequence that it was presented to a source node. Failure to do so may render communication between users impossible.
In one embodiment, a communication network is made up of a number of telecommunication nodes. Frames of data transported on a circuit line (TDM frames) are received at a first node of the network and segmented into packets such that a first packet includes a first portion of data from the TDM frame, a second packet includes a second portion of data from the TDM frame, etc. A frame count value is added to each packet header. In addition, a frame start offset value is added to each packet header. The packets are transmitted across the telecommunication network to a second node where they are received and played out according to the frame count and offset values such that the TDM frame is transmitted with its bytes in the same order as that in which the bytes were received and in the same position within the transmitted TDM frame that they occupied in the received TDM frame.